


Never To Surrender

by Val_Creative



Category: Batwoman (TV 2019)
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Angst, Bittersweet, Canon Era, Canon Lesbian Character, Drinking & Talking, During Canon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Related, Family, Good Sister Beth Kane | Alice, Heavy Drinking, Murder, Past Abuse, Past Torture, Sad Kate Kane, Season/Series 01, Some Humor, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 04:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23205349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Val_Creative/pseuds/Val_Creative
Summary: (Alternate Scene for 1x15.) Kate crumples under the weight of her grief and raw, penetrating guilt. Alice shushes her, clasping onto Kate’s nape and pulling their heads close. Their foreheads thud together.
Relationships: Beth Kane | Alice & Kate Kane, Beth Kane | Alice/Kate Kane
Comments: 11
Kudos: 61





	Never To Surrender

*

She's seen grayer shadows than this.

Grayer than August Cartwright's basement of terrors, when the shadows whispered and pleaded to her with the blood on her tiny hands… grayer than Alice's nightmares of the Queen pouring hot tea on her hands… grayer than her mother's dead face…

The alleyway is cold and slick with rain. Kate presses herself up against a wall, breathing erratically and staring down pointedly at her feet. She clutches onto a glass bottle of amber peach cognac, taking a long swig. It smells expensive. Alice's lace-exposed forefinger slowly smooths over the bricks, as if tracing it into her memory. She flicks rainwater in Kate's direction.

" _I know who I was when I got up this morning_ …" Alice recites. " _But I think I must have been changed several times since then_ …"

Kate's mouth cringes and flattens, trembling.

"You're seriously deranged," she mutters.

"And now you know _WHY!_ Isn't that a hoot!" Alice trills, giving her a mocking, wide-eyed look.

She gestures for the alcohol and hums pleasantly when Kate passes it without looking at her twin. Alice drains a portion of the cognac, wrinkling her nose and shaking out her bleach-blonde hair as the burn hits her.

"You're a real lifesaver…" she adds, leaning to the wall next to Kate. Her voice a little more solemn.

"I know that… it must eat you up inside… that it was _ME_ that needed _YOU_ …"

"Don't…" Kate rasps out, glaring. "Don't make me regret this…"

Alice looks over her studiously, taking her time, noticing the glimmer of bright moisture in Kate's eyes.

"You and I both know you have other things to worry about now."

Her sweet sister killed a man in a fit of rage. For Beth… for Alice, for her. That went against Batwoman's and Kate's moral code. There's no coming back from this. She would be so, so glad and proud if it wasn't for Kate's pain.

A quiet, stifled noise escapes Kate. Tears flow freely.

She crumples under the weight of her grief and raw, penetrating guilt.

Alice shushes her, whispering Kate's name like it's a familiar hymn to her, clasping onto Kate's nape and pulling their heads close. Their foreheads thud together. Kate trembles harder, but doesn't yank away.

One of Alice's hands scrambles to her twin's, pressing Kate's fingers to her heart and her own to Kate's.

Those fingers, warm and impossibly real, dig into Alice's blouse.

_Impossible?_

_Only if you believe it._

*


End file.
